Maine News Updates

AUGUSTA – Maine is the first state to offer low-interest mortgages under a new energy-efficiency program for homeowners and homebuyers of all income levels.

MaineHousing and several Maine lenders are now offering Energy Star mortgages on existing energy-efficient homes or homes that achieve total energy savings of at least 20 percent based on improvements recommended by a home energy audit.

The Energy Star mortgages may be used to:

• Buy or refinance homes that are energy efficient.
• Buy or refinance homes that need energy improvements.
• Finance home energy improvements.

“The cost of borrowing extra money to weatherize your home is more than paid for by lower energy costs,” said MaineHousing Director Dale McCormick.

MaineHousing offers Energy Star mortgages through its Home Energy Loan Program, which provides loans at a low fixed interest rate of 3.95 percent (4.194 percent APR) for home energy improvements. The loans are available to eligible low- and moderate-income homeowners through participating lenders, including: Bath Savings Institution, Camden National Bank, HomeQuest, Kennebunk Savings Bank, MaineStream Finance, Northeast Bank, Norway Savings Bank, Skowhegan Savings, and The First, N.A.

The Energy Star program was developed by The Energy Programs Consortium, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and state energy and housing agencies, with support from the Ford and Surdna Foundations.

To learn more, go to

http://www.mainehousing.org/energystar/